Saudia Cements its Commitment to OnAir Connectivity Expansion of Services to B787 Fleet

After equipping its A330 and B777 fleets with OnAir’s services, Saudia’s B787 aircraft will become the latest fleet to be connected. All of Saudia’s long-haul fleets are now connected with OnAir.

Hamburg, Germany, April 09 2014 -(PressReleasePoint)- After equipping its A330 and B777 fleets with OnAir’s services, Saudia’s B787 aircraft will become the latest fleet to be connected. All of Saudia’s long-haul fleets are now connected with OnAir.

Saudia is the second B787 operator to offer OnAir connectivity, reaffirming OnAir’s position as the leading inflight connectivity provider.

The first of Saudia’s eight B787s is due for delivery in December 2015. Saudia’s decision to include OnAir connectivity on its Dreamliners confirms the success of OnAir's GSM and Wi-Fi services on its other fleets. The airline has seen a 400 percent increase in mobile data usage and 254 percent increase in internet usage over the last 12 months. The aircraft will be equipped with a Thales TopConnect solution enabling access to OnAir’s Wi-Fi Internet and mobile phone services over Inmarsat SwiftBroadband (SBB).

The provision of OnAir connectivity services on this B787 fleet marks a significant milestone in Saudia’s efforts to implement a seamless, consistent brand offering across all its fleets. Saudia’s commitment to OnAir as its preferred service provider is integral to the effective execution of this strategy. The versatility of OnAir’s services make them the right ones to be launched across a variety of aircraft types.

“Saudia is very happy to be expanding our cabin connectivity with OnAir services,” said Mr. Abdul Mohsen Jonaid, Chief Commercial Officer of Saudia. “We have seen how well our inflight connectivity has been received by passengers and OnAir is the natural choice for us when we decided to include connectivity on our B787s. Passengers want and expect to be connected and we want to provide the best passenger experience.”

OnAir connectivity has been flying with Saudia for four years. During this time, OnAir has partnered with the airline through various fleet expansions, as well as providing connectivity for new routes that the airline has introduced. OnAir has provided the level of coverage necessary to maintain a high consistency of service across all the routes that Saudia flies.

“It is great to see new agreements coming as the result of existing relationships with airlines,” said Ian Dawkins, CEO of OnAir. “Saudia’s entire long range fleet is now connected with OnAir. We have gained Saudia’s trust by consistently delivering on all our commitments. This has cemented our long term partnership and put it firmly on track for future growth.”

About OnAir:
OnAir sets the benchmark for global inflight connectivity solutions, with over 60 customers on five continents. We are the only provider to offer consistent global coverage for both inflight cellular and Wi-Fi services, thanks to regulatory approvals from over 100 countries, more than 375 roaming agreements.

OnAir’s products enable passengers to use their own mobile phones, smartphones, tablets and laptops in exactly the same way as they do on the ground, either through the onboard cellular network or the onboard Wi-Fi hotspot. OnAir also provides on-demand entertainment content, such as music, videos, newspapers and magazines. The products are available as linefit or retrofit for all commercial aircraft, as well as government, VIP and business jets. OnAir products operate over all satellite links.

OnAir was incorporated in February 2005 and is owned by SITA, the leading IT solutions provider to the air transport world. OnAir is a member of the GSM Association and an Inmarsat Distribution Partner for both SBB and GX Aviation services.

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